Connected To The Case to use Facebook for crowd-sourced crime solving

Ready the spandex and decide on a name for your alter ego, because come October 16th, you'll have the chance to fight crime from the comfort of your computer. On that date, the "Connected To The Case" website goes live with the aim of crowd-sourcing tips from its users to help the cops solve active investigations. You'll use your Facebook login for access, as the service pulls data from your profile to prioritize cases with which you might have a connection. Morgan Wright, CEO and Chief Crime Fighter of Crowd Sourced Investigations, told us its system looks at five key areas when digging for pertinent triggers: "date, location, time, relation and demographics." It then uses that data to tailor notifications of unsolved crimes based on -- for example -- proximity to your school, or where you used to work. Rest assured that you control the privacy settings, and if you've got useful info to share, you can do so anonymously.

Law enforcement agencies can register to include their cases from today, with the initial roll-out targeting the US. The plan is to expand first to other English-speaking countries, with foreign language support in the future to build a global network of internet do-gooders. Including data from other social networks is also in the pipeline, starting with Twitter and later, Foursquare and Pinterest. A smartphone app is also on the agenda, so get your detective devices ready -- we can be heroes, if just for one click.

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Connected To The Case Uses the Power of Social Media to Connect Citizens to Cases

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Praetorian Labs and Crowd Sourced Investigations, LLC, today announced the launch of Connected To The Case, a revolutionary new approach to crime fighting that leverages social media to connect citizens with information that can solve crimes to the agencies investigating those crimes.

Using the power and reach of leading edge social media tools, Connected To The Case was designed to help law enforcement solve crime, return the missing and protect children from violence, exploitation and abuse by connecting the known to the unknown. With the click of a button, Connected To The Case utilizes profile information provided by users on Facebook and other social media platforms to show real-time results for how citizens are personally connected to active cases. These shared connections lead to greater awareness, which result in more tips being generated for law enforcement. Users who share information control their privacy every step of the way.

"The ability to harness the true power of social media, and focus it on a case that needs to be solved will help law enforcement close cases more quickly and bring closure to the families of victims who are still waiting for justice," said Morgan Wright, CEO and Chief Crime Fighter of Crowd Sourced Investigations, LLC. "As a former law enforcement officer and detective, I know full well the need to quickly and efficiently close active cases."

"Praetorian Group and Praetorian Labs are proud to incubate Connected To The Case, a great resource that allows the general public to participate and help public safety and first responders solve crimes every day," said Alex Ford, CEO of Praetorian Group, the recognized digital platform leader in the Public Safety market with properties such as PoliceOne.com, FireRescue1.com and EMS1.com. "We believe this innovation will have a profound impact in helping to improve society and assist law enforcement in the coming decade."

Connected To The Case has also been designed as a national community policing resource, allowing citizens and law enforcement to collaborate across jurisdictions and state lines to solve crime.

"The ability to use modern technology to improve communication and information sharing between police and the community on crime issues is a force multiplier that is more relevant and needed than ever before," said Todd Miller, Director of Public Safety, Mankato, MN Department of Public Safety and Chair of the International Association of Chiefs of Police Community Policing Section. "With budgets limited by current economic conditions, this free resource to law enforcement from Connected To The Case can be an effective means of helping make our communities safer."

In collaboration with the Officer Down Memorial Page (www.odmp.org), Connected To The Case will feature a permanent memorial and link to all the unsolved Officer Down cases for the last 20 years. "We're excited to partner with Connected To The Case to bring more awareness to unsolved police murders," remarked Chris Cosgriff, Executive Director of The Officer Down Memorial Page. "Where other leads have run dry, we're hoping that social media may provide new tips for investigators to follow so that justice can finally be served for these fallen heroes, their families, and fellow officers."

Beginning Oct. 1, law enforcement agencies will be able to pre-register for free access to Connected To The Case here: www.c2case.com/register. More information can be found at facebook.com/connectedtothecase or on Twitter - @c2case. The main website will launch Oct. 16th - www.c2case.com.